"NEST soldier, reporting for duty," I said, walking into the Supply Vault, waiting for orders from General Glenn Morshower, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commander of NEST, as well as Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots.

NEST, or the Nonbiological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty, is a military organization formed to create a combined Human/Autobot defense force against Decepticons in the fictional sci-fi cartoon series-turned-blockbuster juggernaut, The Transformers. I'm a proud founding member of the NEST Supply team at Universal Studios Florida.

But here's the critical difference: as a cosplayer and paid-themed employee, I knew when to turn the theming off and become a responsible, respectful human being—helping a lost kid or bringing out ponchos for the incoming rain.

Not zip-tie the wrists of children in the middle of the night, separated from their parents as a military-grade helicopter hovers over their home, or aim (and in some cases, fire) weapons at bystanders.

Here's how we learned to stop being human: What started as an "unpopular opinion" turned into hateful ideology that gave certain Americans not just privilege in status, but created a villain—the "other." The othering and exclusion of anyone who couldn't immediately be deemed White and Christian became normalized.

Conversations that many of us thought were racist, hateful and un-American have become policy. But the truth is simpler and darker: we never treated immigrants and people of color as full humans to begin with.

Dehumanizing actions targeting immigrants—both undocumented and with varying legal statuses—and Black and brown people in general, regardless of citizenship, didn't start yesterday. They have deep roots.

One could argue that this political othering accelerated in 2015 with then-candidate Donald Trump's vilification of Mexican people. However, America has long segregated populations based on race, religion and culture — through slavery, genocide, and forced displacement. Political, economic and physical exclusions trace back centuries: Chinatowns didn't form because Chinese immigrants naturally clustered together, but because they faced economic threats, violence, and targeted policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Early Chinese immigrants banded together to survive.

As antagonistic political ideologies spread from behind closed doors into public spaces, human decency should have reacted accordingly. Instead, self-interest prevailed. The quiet mutterings many of us thought were checked by conscience have returned with a bellow, backed by national government powers and the willingness of those with influence to be compliant, if not jubilant, about the shift to target those who "take advantage" of the American system. Each small act of compliance teaches the next person that they can go further. Each normalized cruelty makes the next one easier.

President Donald Trump is now undermining the National Guard and federal officers to build a paramilitary force that defends property and unjustly arrests and disappears thousands of undocumented people, as well as citizens expressing their First Amendment rights.

What is framed as "justified force" against "illegal aliens" has expanded to targeting Black and brown Chicagoans, naturalized citizens, journalists doing their job, even religious leaders—a blatant violation of Illinois' state rights and the U.S. Constitution. This rewards aggressive tactics and encourages them to go further.

If we can gain any insight from Transformers: Dark of the Moon, it's that governments, when faced with a choice between obeying authoritarian demands and defending rights, too often choose compliance—to the detriment of millions in Illinois, Oregon and across the country. But the film also offers us hope—if we choose differently.

In my second edition of Scout’s Compass, I shared my favorite quote from Optimus Prime: "Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."

It is a choice to do the right thing. It is a choice to stand up when others fall in line. People like to imagine themselves as heroes, pulling someone to safety after a car crash or resuscitating someone with CPR. But right now, this is our moment.

Moral courage is a choice we make based on our individual beliefs and principles. Ask yourself: How would you like to be treated? How would you like your family treated? Would you want armed agents at your door in the middle of the night? Would you want your children separated from you, zip-tied, terrified?

I may have imagined myself a hero in my NEST fatigues. Kids certainly believed I worked alongside Optimus and Bee. But courage requires more than costume: it requires bravery grounded in conviction and moral strength. This is where cosplayers become heroes. We must say no to the growing shadow side of the moon rather than ignore it.

Seymour Simmons, played by John Turturro, delivers a warning to federal officials as the Autobots are forced to leave Earth, banished by the U.S. government that chose to ally with the Decepticons:

"Years from now, they'll ask us: where were you when they took over the planet? And we'll say: we just stood by and watched." Let this not be our story.

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